Career plans: March 2024 edition
Three things I’m focused on this month.
Have I ever told you how much I adore early spring?
Hints of buds on the branches, the sun a bit higher in the sky. I love how during this time of year, you can find nature giving you examples of change and promises of abundance wherever you turn, each example a micro story of resilience, hope, growth, and grit.
Maybe this is why early spring is also a period when I usually feel very motivated work-wise - it’s easier to feel motivated to stay diligent when you see how hard the trees are working to make the slight glimpses of their future coats survive through the moody weather that is so common for this time of year.
And today I’m sharing some of my March plans and to-do lists with you.
What I’m watching: the Diary of a CEO. I’m kinda all about mastering my Circadian rhythm these days and watching interviews like this one. Plus, Steven is a good interviewer who *actually* lets his guests answer his questions without constantly interrupting them, which should be the norm but is so refreshing these days. If you’re looking for a good episode that’s all about cultivating an indistractable type of discipline, try this one.
What I’m reading: “The Rejection that Changed My Life: 25+ Powerful Women on Being Let Down, Turning It Around, and Burning It Up at Work” by Jessica Bacal. I like stories about lessons that come from things not going your way. We’ll see how this book turns out to be.
What I’m listening: recent discoveries like Dekker and The First Aid Kit. Thank you, random Spotify playlist recommendation, you were on point.
Here’s where you find me this Monday:
I’m wrapping up a course in manual QA testing (🎉) and now it’s all about practice, practice, practice. Well, practice and getting my first work experiences in the industry, no matter how big or small.
I have three focus points for the remaining three weeks of March 2024:
Mockup stuff: to use websites that are purposefully built with lots of bugs for newbies to practice on to write mockup test documentation in Excel, do job interview simulations with ChatGPT, scan more literature, and review other people’s work. Basically, I’d say that I’m doing the adult version of the exam season.
Do some bug reporting or UX testing work, no matter how small the gig: paid or unpaid, I’ll take it (if I know how to do it, of course). This is not the stage to focus on income. It’s the stage at which I’m building confidence in my ability to get the job done in a way that keeps increasing in quality. And also the stage at which I’m getting to know the work from the inside.
Begin to network: it’s time (*sigh*). The keyword here is “begin” - I’m leaving the heavy lifting to April, but March should be about laying the foundations. Or the foundations for the foundations. 🤷🏼♀️
I’ve been postponing going back to LinkedIn until I can speak the basic level of language in QA testing. I wanted to know what the key processes of the industry are and what abbreviations like RTT, BDD, etc. mean (there are so.many.abbreviations.). For that reason, I shoved LinkedIn aside. For example, over the past 3 months or so, I haven’t even shared the links to new articles I wrote for this platform on LinkedIn!
It’s high time to get the blood circulating to the numb limb that is my profile on that social network. There are a few elements to the successful LinkedIn revamp: connecting with other QA testers and IT recruiters, creating useful & interesting content on a new set of topics, and updating my profile - especially the part related to my skills and technologies I know how to use. (Yes, I’ll have updates ready for separate articles on the Career Pivot Diaries - oh, and if you’d like the front-row ticket, you can add me on LinkedIn. :) )
As you can see, the theme of the month can be summed up in a motto along these lines: “Embracing humility and prioritizing deliberate practice, while treating every experience related to testing as a good experience to put under my belt”.
All this is to get me ready for something big (or just bigger?) that I want to do in April.
But that’s a story for another article in another month. :)
Until then, hit ‘reply’ and let me know: what are your plans for the rest of the month? Is there a general theme or several diverse things?
Whatever it is, I’m rooting for you from this side of the globe!
Oh, and it would help me to know for the future: would you like a separate article on what I’m using to learn QA testing and some useful resource recommendations for the specific industry or are you more interested in general career change advice and anecdotes? Thanks in advance!
Until next week,
Your neighborly ‘Damn life seems to be speeding up again with all these things I want to do in just 3 weeks’ avid note taker,
Andjela
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Welcome to the Career Pivot Diaries where I chronicle my journey from sustainability communications to QA testing! This is where we’ll cover all things career change, such as going from entrepreneurship to 9-to-5, exploring new professional identities, and *finally* updating that dusty CV. Most importantly, we’ll explore how to see ourselves as more than our work and find a sense of safety in choosing a new path while allowing room for creative play.
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